Felony = No pension or retirement benefits

I have had the honor and privilege to serve in the New York State Assembly now for four months. I have met a fair amount of great individuals along the way; some are part of the freshman class of 23 that I joined and others who have been here for nearly forty years. I can honestly say that the individuals I have met have been kind, courteous, hard working and they epitomize the greatness of the Assembly and the Senate.

On the other hand, there are two Assembly Members and two State Senators that I have not met nor do I expect to meet anytime soon as they have come under indictment for what is generically called corruption. They will not be joining us in Albany anytime soon.

Needless to say, times are odd at best and strange to say the least at the State Capitol these days and unfortunately it appears to be a trend that has continued over the last decade. As a freshman, I find these charges troubling and distracting as this is not what the people of the state of New York elected us to accomplish in office. These are not the actions of an elected official that are acceptable at any level of government, especially at the state level.

Residents should know that many legislators do not tolerate these unacceptable actions and we are taking steps to address the inappropriate actions taken by a few. I am pleased to be cosponsoring with my majority colleagues in the Assembly A0623 and A07173. Both these bills try to address the age old issue of revoking pensions and additional retirement benefits of those elected officials found GUILTY of certain felonies.

Previous legislation has sought to reduce or eliminate the benefits of elected officials convicted of a crime related to their employment. However, these pieces of legislation do not go far enough. It is necessary to amend the New York State Constitution, as barring a pension contends with a contractual relationship and as a result, those benefits cannot be reduced or impaired simply by changing the law. It is likely these proposals are unconstitutional. Therefore, amending the current State Constitution is necessary and I am supporting legislation to pave the way for the residents to have the opportunity to enter the ballot box to make the decision for themselves.

Additionally this past week in the Assembly we passed Campaign Finance reform by a comfortable margin. That being said, our version has to match up with the State Senate and at this time it does not look like anything in the same form will come forward. However, I would not be surprised to see a compromise as the next six weeks move forward. I believe the public is fed up with the antics in Albany just as this freshman legislator is having been in office for only four months!